FF7 riddles

[Masamune·1600]

Since Dio/Cloud and Dyne/Barret (the two responses which seem most likely) have already been suggested, I'll propose that the answer is Cid and Shera. Riches could refer to his position as a great pilot, and his eminence at becoming, potentially, the first person in space. He would have been a champion at the moment of his seeming triumph, as the rocket prepared for launch--except that Shera was still making adjustments. Had he gone through with the launch, Shera would have been killed. Thus, he ended it, effectively failing. Thus, he gave away his dream to Shera.

[PhoenixAsh]

Sorry, no ones really got close to the answer yet. There me have been some thinking in the area, but I need some explanations. Read the riddle much more carefully.

[DaremihC]

Shot in the dark:

Nanaki?

Seto sounds like the champion... and there was a tear reference... I dunno...

[Shadow_Wolf 6354]

From rags to riches he went,
To what could hold the cup of Midas.
As a champion,
He stood against the rain.i tkink this refers to seto as when you first see him it is raining
As a failure,
All he could do was wipe his tears.he was turned to stone and could only cry
But he was not a selfish man,
He gave his gift away.he left his limeted moon headdress to his son nanaki

:shoot:

[PhoenixAsh]

Sorry, nice thinking, but not right. Seriously I don't usually put in lines that aren't relevant to the riddle.

[Weimar Pluto Knight VII]

It's definitely got something to do with the Gold Saucer. "riches" makes me think of Gold Saucer. Wiping tears makes me think of the tissues you get for losing in the battle square.

Most of the riddle seems to be describing someone who goes from North Corel to the Gold Saucer and fights in the Battle Square, though I'm not sure about the rain part. I can't believe the answer is not Barret. Dyne does what the riddle talks about, then he gives Barret a pendant.

If I'm way off, I needs hints.

[-N-]

All I can think of is the legend of Midas, in which case I would obviously answer the river Pactolus. But this isn't Greek mythology, this is FFVII. And I can't think of anything with a gold gift per se except for Gold Chocobos or the Gold Saucer.

The Dio/Cloud and Dyne/Barret solutions occured to me immediately, and I am also swayed by Seto/Nanaki. If all these are incorrect, I would have to suggest Hojo/Sephiroth - you fight him while it's raining on the Sister Ray, and he gives his gift - Mako energy - to Sephiroth (or tries to).

[Weimar Pluto Knight VII]

oh, Sephiroth's a great guess. I'm not sure how that ties into the first two lines, though.

[Lenna]

riches, the Kalm traveller? from rags to riches = when cloud fights the weapons you take them to the Kalm traveller because he "needs" them (they are rare too so they can be classed as riches) then in return, he gives you a Gold Chocobo. so I believe it's the Kalm traveller giving the chocobo to Cloud & the gang.

[PhoenixAsh]

Weimar, has been the closest so far, but has taken the whole riddle too literally. Some parts are literal, some are less so.

EDIT: Although I personally think it might make the riddle harder, I'll suggest for the possible sake of accuracy, that you can read line four as
'he stood against the elements'.

[Lenna]

Odin?

[Masamune·1600]

From rags to riches he went,
To what could hold the cup of Midas.
As a champion,
He stood against the rain.
As a failure,
All he could do was wipe his tears.
But he was not a selfish man,
He gave his gift away.

Who to?

"From rags to riches he went / to what could hold the cup of Midas."

This line would seem to imply that the character in question successfully rose from poverty or something similar to a position of affluence (or the like). It's unclear whether this is the same step, or a totally different one from "To what could hold the cup of Midas", but that doesn't really matter. The "cup of Midas" seems an allusion to gold, suggesting that the Gold Saucer is at play in the riddle. Obviously Corel/Desert Prison and/or North Corel could be the "rags", although this could also refer to a number of other locales or situations.

"As a champion / He stood against the rain."

PhoenixAsh has noted that, although it might make the riddle more difficult, the fourth line can be stated more accurately as "He stood against the elements." While one could take this to refer to Fire, Ice, Lightning, and the like, the previous use of "rain" (which is said to be easier, anyway) suggests that "elements" simply refers to climatological conditions (rain, wind, snow, whatever). In any case, the character in question, as a champion of some sort, stood against said elements.

"As a failure / All he could do was wipe his tears."

These lines suggest one of two things. The first is that neither success nor failure is guaranteed; one or the other could happen. This could play to a Battle Square reading of the riddle. Alternatively, the champion/failure references could suggest that the individual was successful at one point, and not successful at some other time. Wiping tears could be figurative, suggesting that our mystery character had no recourse to seek after failing. Taken literally, the line states that, having failed, the character was reduced to tears.

"But he was not a selfish man / He gave his gift away."

The character gave something away. This could really refer to any transition of an item or concept, although "not...selfish" and "gave" suggest that said gift was really given, as opposed to being part of a mutual transaction (which would discount someone like the Kalm traveller, who did receive the Guide Book, Earth Harp, and Desert Rose in return for his gifts).

Also, note that the pronoun "he" was used throughout the riddle. The character in question is male, although the gender of the answer is obviously dependent upon this central character.


I'm not sure how to put this together, though, since my reading is leading me back to Dio. It could, I suppose, refer to the buggy, or a number of other Gold Saucer prizes, as opposed to the Keystone, but I think PhoenixAsh would have suggested that the Keystone guess was close if this were the case. For the sake of putting forward a guess, I'll say the kidin the Sector 6 Slums, giving the Turbo Ether to Cloud, although I don't really have any confidence in it.

[PhoenixAsh]

Very good work from masamune1600 until the Midgar kid guess. The end of the riddle needn't be read into too deeply, I'm actually surprised noone has got this yet, this isn't my hardest riddle by quite a way. I'll just give the answer in a few more guesses, as people really are close.

[Mercen-X]

When you get to the that cottage at the base of Mt. Gaia, Holzoff tells you the story of his climbing days.
He and his friend were climbing but underestimated the harsh weather. To allow Holzoff to survive, his friend cut his rope to lessen the weight on Holzoff.

[Weimar Pluto Knight VII]

I don't get your answer, Mercen-X, but that would be cool if you're right.